Navigating the Leave Management Maze

Navigating the Leave Management Maze

Complications of Leave-Management

A part of running a business is dealing with employees that have to go on a period of leave, for whatever reason. This type of thing can happen when a person gets sick or gets injured and is going to be out of commission for a while, if they have to take care of a sick child or dependent, or a number of other reasons that may require them to take a leave from work. One of the most difficult things for both the employer and employee to deal with during these scenarios is navigating through the major maze that comes along with monetary payments and legal issues that are going to be present. The process gets extremely complex when you start to add in the varying ways that different states and organizations proceed with different cases.

Consulting with Legal Counsel

There are a ton of different scenarios that a company may be dealing with in each particular case, with each separate employee and situation, so it is imperative that a company talks to their legal counsel to handle each case. The first thing that the company and the legal counsel are going to have to figure out is where the individuals case falls and how they should proceed forward. They must figure out if the case is covered by laws and regulations, which is something that the legal counsel is going to have to look at and try to determine. There is also a lot of consideration that goes into each case in terms of how long a person is likely going to be out of work, or how long they have already been on a leave from work.

Ability to Come Back to Work

Each company that is dealing with this type of case is going to have to write out clear plans for evaluating and discussing when each employee that is out on a leave can come back to work. The focus for these discussions should be on analyzing whether or not they have the ability to come back to work or not, which really sets the dialogue for any legal issue and monetary amount that may be paid out to them. If an employee has the opportunity to come back to work, they likely are not going to be fully covered during their leave, and it may have to go to another organization to handle the matter. Each case is very confusing, which is why it’s important for a company to have a legal counsel that in place and ready to work on these types of cases when they pop up.

Constructing a Clear Policy

One of the smartest thing that any company can do is set up a policy that dictates what is acceptable when it comes to taking a leave. Every employee in the company should know and understand what constitutes a situation that may lead to a leave from work and there needs to be a clear cut line. Having this out in the open, where each employee can read and understand the rules before-hand really cuts down on the confusion that might take place in the future. If an employee knows when they can and can’t take a leave, based on what is written in the policy, there is less likely to be a dispute later on down the line if they do in fact reach a situation where they may need to take a leave.

Case by Case Basis

While it is a great thing to have rules written out and a well-defined policy out in the open, it is drastically important for companies to realize that each and every case is different and needs to be looked at on an individual basis. For example, a person may be forced to take a leave to take care of a sick family member, or a child that needs 24/7 attention for a period of time, but the case may not be as dire or as serious as another separate case. Each case needs to be analyzed and approached with a bit of caution at first, which should help to tread lightly on any issue that may be sensitive, and will help to create a better overall solution to the legal and monetary issues regarding the leave.

Outsourcing Leave Management

Based on the fact that this type of thing can be so confusing for companies to deal with, a huge amount of businesses have simply decided to outsource this type of work. There are companies out there that specialize in dealing with leave issues, so this is a very viable option for different businesses to utilize. If you own a business and are struggling to handle this aspect of your company, you may want to consider outsourcing.

This content was provided by Neches FCU, an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer Credit Union.
Neches FCU is a leading Texas credit union with a superior team, always ready to deliver service their 45,000+ members. Their company’s core objective of “Ultimate Member Satisfaction” is the sole focus for every employee. They are all dedicated to providing a memorable service experience each and every time for clients they consider as family.